View source for HMAS Vampire (D68)

{{short description|1917-1942 V-class destroyer of the Royal and Royal Australian navies}}
{{Other ships|HMAS Vampire|HMS Vampire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2018}} 
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMAS Vampire Allan-Green.jpg
|Ship caption=HMAS ''Vampire''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Wallace''
|Ship namesake=[[William Wallace]]
|Ship ordered=1916
|Ship builder=[[J. Samuel White|J. Samuel White & Co Ltd]]
|Ship laid down=10 October 1916
|Ship launched=21 May 1917
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship renamed=''Vampire'' 1917
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship commissioned=22 September 1917
|Ship decommissioned=11 November 1933
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Transferred to Australia
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Australia
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Australia|naval-1913}}
|Ship name=''Vampire''
|Ship namesake=[[Vampire]] (mythical creature)
|Ship acquired=11 November 1933
|Ship commissioned=11 November 1933
|Ship decommissioned=31 January 1934
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=Yes
|Ship recommissioned=11 May 1938
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]] D68/I68
|Ship honours=*'''Battle honours:'''
*[[Battle of Calabria|Calabria]] 1940
*Libya 1940–41
*[[Battle of Greece|Greece]] 1941
*[[Battle of Crete|Crete]] 1941
*[[Indian Ocean in World War II|Indian Ocean]] 1941–42
|Ship fate=Bombed and sunk by Japanese aircraft on 9 April 1942
|Ship badge=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Header caption=(RAN service)
|Ship class=[[V and W-class destroyer|V-class]] [[flotilla leader]]
|Ship displacement=*1,188 tons standard
*1,489 tons deep
|Ship length=*{{convert|312|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} overall
*{{convert|300|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} between perpendiculars
|Ship beam={{convert|29|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}} maximum
|Ship propulsion=3 × White Forster boilers, 2 × Brown-Curtis turbines, twin screws, generating {{convert|27,000|shp|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|34|kn}}
|Ship range={{convert|3500|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=6 officers, 113 sailors
|Ship armament=*4 × [[QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun|QF {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=4}} Mk V guns]]
*1 × [[QF 2-pounder naval gun|QF 2-pounder gun]] (increased to 2 in January 1942)
*4 × Lewis .303 guns (2 twin mountings)
*1 × Lewis .303 gun (later replaced by 1 × 4-barrel Vickers .303 gun)
*6 × [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] torpedo tubes (2 triple mounts, later increased to 2 quad mounts)
*2 × [[depth charge]] throwers (installed later)
*4 × depth charge chutes (installed later)
*50 depth charges
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMAS ''Vampire''''' was a [[V and W-class destroyer|V-class]] [[destroyer]] of the [[Royal Navy]] (RN) and [[Royal Australian Navy]] (RAN). Launched in 1917 as HMS ''Wallace'', the ship was renamed and commissioned into the RN later that year. ''Vampire'' was lent to the RAN in 1933, and operated as a depot tender until just before World War II. Reactivated for war service, the destroyer served in the Mediterranean as part of the [[Scrap Iron Flotilla]], and was escorting the British warships {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}} and {{HMS|Repulse|1916|6}} during [[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|their loss to Japanese aircraft]] in the South China Sea in December 1941. ''Vampire'' was sunk on 9 April 1942 by Japanese aircraft while sailing with the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}} from [[Trincomalee]].

==Construction==
The destroyer was one of five [[V and W-class destroyer#Admiralty V class leaders|Admiralty V-class]] [[flotilla leader]]s ordered by the RN in the 1916–17 construction program.<ref name=Cassells143>Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 143</ref> Originally, there were to be differences in design between the V class leaders and the rest of the V-class destroyers, but in order to save time in designing the destroyers, changes were limited to the layout of the bridge and accommodation areas.<ref name=Cassells143/>

''Vampire'' had a standard [[displacement (ship)|displacement]] of 1,188 tons, and a deep load displacement of 1,489 tons.<ref name=Cassells142.3/> She was {{convert|312|ft|0.75|in}} in [[length overall]] and {{convert|300|ft}} long [[between perpendiculars]], with a beam of {{convert|29|ft|6.25|in}}, and a maximum draught of {{convert|13|ft|8.75|in}}.<ref name=Cassells142.3/> Propulsion machinery consisted of three White Forster boilers supplying two Brown-Curtis steam turbines, which provided {{convert|27,000|shp}} to the destroyer's two propellers.<ref name=Cassells142.3/> Maximum speed was {{convert|34|kn}}, and ''Vampire'' could sail {{convert|3500|nmi}} at {{convert|15|kn}}.<ref name=Cassells142.3/> The standard ship's company was made up of 6 officers and 113 sailors.<ref name=Cassells142.3/>

Main armament for a V-class destroyer consisted of four [[QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun|QF {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=4}} Mark V guns]].<ref name=Cassells142.3/> This was supplemented by a [[QF 2-pounder naval gun|QF 2-pounder gun]] (with a second installed in January 1942), two twin [[Lewis gun]] mountings, a single Lewis gun (later replaced by a 4-barrel Vickers .303 gun), and two torpedo tube sets (initially 3-tube, later replaced by 4-tube sets).<ref name=Cassells142.3/> Four depth charge chutes were fitted during construction, with two depth charge throwers installed later; the destroyer could carry up to 50 charges.<ref name=Cassells142.3/>

The ship was laid down as HMS ''Wallace'' by [[J. Samuel White|J. Samuel White & Co Ltd]] at [[Cowes]] on the [[Isle of Wight]] on 10 October 1916, and was launched on 21 May 1917.<ref name=Cassells142.3/> In July 1917, the ship was renamed ''Vampire'', and was commissioned into the RN on 22 September 1917.<ref name=Cassells142.3>Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', pp. 142–3</ref>

==Operational history==

===RN service===
On entering service, ''Vampire'' was initially assigned to the [[4th Destroyer Flotilla]].<ref name=Mason>{{cite web |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-09VW-Vampire.htm |title=Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire |last=Mason |first=Geoffrey B. |date=12 June 2011 |work=Service histories of Royal Navy warships in World War 2 |publisher=NavalHistory.net |access-date=27 May 2012}}</ref> After the end of World War I, the destroyer saw service in British waters and the Mediterranean.<ref name=Mason/>

===Transfer to RAN===
In 1933, it was decided to replace the five [[S-class destroyer (1917)|S-class destroyers]] (HMA Ships {{HMAS|Stalwart|H14|2}}, {{HMAS|Success|H02|2}}, {{HMAS|Swordsman||2}}, {{HMAS|Tasmania||2}}, and {{HMAS|Tattoo||2}}) and the flotilla leader ({{HMAS|Anzac|1917|6}}) on loan to the RAN with newer ships.<ref name=Cassells143/> ''Vampire'', along with three sister ships (the V-class destroyer {{HMAS|Vendetta|D69|2}} and the W-class destroyers {{HMAS|Voyager|D31|2}} and {{HMAS|Waterhen|D22|2}}) and the {{sclass|Scott|flotilla leader|1}} {{HMS|Stuart|D00|6}} were selected by the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] for loan to Australia as a flotilla.<ref name=Cassells143/>

The five vessels were paid off from RN service at [[Portsmouth, England]] on 11 October 1933, and were commissioned into the RAN on the same day.<ref name=Cassells143/> Less than a week later, the ships left for Australia, arriving in Sydney on 21 December.<ref name=Cassells143/> ''Vampire'' was paid off into reserve on 31 January 1934, but was recommissioned for three days in mid-July to be sailed down to [[Flinders Naval Depot]] for use as a tender.<ref name=Cassells143/> The destroyer remained in "reserve commission" until 11 May 1938, when she was recommissioned for full service.<ref name=Cassells143/>

===World War II – Mediterranean===
''Vampire'' operated in Australian waters until the start of World War II, and on 14 October 1939, joined her sister ships and ''Stuart'' (a force nicknamed the "[[Scrap Iron Flotilla]]") as they were deployed to the [[Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of World War II|Mediterranean Theatre]].<ref name=Cassells143/> From her arrival until April 1940, ''Vampire'' was primarily assigned to convoy escort duties between [[Malta]] and [[Marseilles]].<ref name=Cassells143/> The destroyer operated as an escort and anti-submarine patrol ship from the end of April, and escorted the British aircraft carrier {{HMS|Eagle|1918|6}} during the [[Battle of Calabria]] on 9 July.<ref name=Cassells143/> The only damage sustained by ''Vampire'' was the result of near misses and splinters caused by Italian aircraft bombing ''Eagle'': an RN torpedo gunner aboard the destroyer became the first fatality of the war aboard a RAN ship when he died three days later from splinter wounds.<ref name=Cassells143/>

[[File:HMAS Vampire (AWM 012563).jpg|thumb|left|HMAS ''Vampire'', circa 1940]]
After repairs in Alexandria, ''Vampire'' resumed escort and patrol duties, and on several occasions was unsuccessfully used in attempts to lure the Italian fleet to where they could be engaged by the Allies.<ref name=Cassells143/> In late October and early November, the early phases of the [[Battle of Greece]], the destroyer escorted convoys in Greek waters, before being deployed to aid the [[Western Desert Campaign]] as an escort.<ref name=Cassells143/> On 20 December, ''Vampire'' stripped her engines, forcing the destroyer to dock for repairs.<ref name=Cassells143/> These were completed on 8 January 1941.<ref name=Cassells144/>

''Vampire'' was sent back to Greece, where she operated until May, aiding in the Allied reinforcement ([[Operation Lustre]]) and evacuation ([[Operation Demon]]).<ref name=Cassells144>Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 144</ref> She was then deployed back to the Western Desert Campaign, operating as part of the "[[Tobruk Ferry Service]]"; ships transporting supplies and reinforcements to the Allied-controlled, [[Siege of Tobruk|besieged town of Tobruk]].<ref name=Cassells144/> However, after two trips, the destroyer had to be removed from service because further engine problems were causing the ship to vibrate excessively at speeds over {{convert|16|kn|km/h}}.<ref name=Cassells144/>

The ship sailed to [[Singapore]] for major repairs, which lasted until late 1941.<ref name=Cassells144/> In September, Commander [[William Thomas Alldis Moran|William Moran]] was appointed captain of ''Vampire''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/biography/commander-william-thomas-alldis-moran |title=William Thomas Alldis Moran |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |access-date=3 September 2017}}</ref>

===World War II – British Eastern Fleet===
[[File:HMAS Vampire 1942.jpg|thumb|''Vampire'' on convoy escort in the Indian Ocean, 4 March 1942]]
In [[December 1941]], she joined to the [[British Eastern Fleet]] at [[Colombo]], [[Ceylon]]. In the first week of December, the battlecruiser {{HMS|Repulse|1916|6}} started on a trip to Australia with ''Vampire'' and {{HMS|Tenedos|H04|6}} as escorts, but the force was recalled.<ref>Middlebrook & Mahoney, ''Battleship'', p. 102</ref> Early in the morning of 8 December (Singapore time), Singapore came under attack by Japanese aircraft. ''Repulse'' and the British battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}}, which were in the harbor at the time, shot back with anti-aircraft fire; no planes were shot down, and the ships sustained no damage. After receiving the reports of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] and invasions of [[Siam]] by the Japanese, [[Force Z]] (consisting of ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse'', escorted by ''Vampire'', {{HMS|Electra|H27|2}}, {{HMS|Express|H61|2}}, and ''Tenedos'') put to sea at 17:30 hours on 8 December.<ref>Middlebrook & Mahoney, ''Battleship'', pp. 99–113</ref>

At 20:55 hours, [[Tom Phillips (Royal Navy officer)|Admiral Philips]] cancelled the operation, and ordered the force to return to Singapore. On the way back, they were spotted and reported by {{Jsub|I-58|1943|6}}. The next morning, 10 December, they received a report of Japanese landings at [[Kuantan]], and ''Express'' was sent to investigate the area, finding nothing. That afternoon, ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse'' were [[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|attacked and sunk]] by 85 Japanese aircraft off Kuantan by aircraft from the [[22nd Air Flotilla]] based at [[Saigon]].<ref>Middlebrook & Mahoney, ''Battleship'', pp. 145–267</ref> ''Vampire'' rescued 225 of the ships' 2,081 survivors from the sea, and transported them to Singapore.<ref name=Cassells144/>

On 26 January 1942, following reports that an unescorted group of Japanese troopships was sailing near [[Endau]], Malaya, ''Vampire'' and {{HMS|Thanet|H29|6}} were [[Battle off Endau|ordered to intercept]].<ref name=Cassells144/> Reaching the Japanese convoy at 02:00 the next morning, the two destroyers found the troopships were protected by the cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Sendai||2}} and six destroyers.<ref name=Cassells144/> The allied destroyers attempted to escape: ''Vampire'' was successful, but ''Thanet'' was sunk.<ref name=Cassells144/>

On 11 February, ''Vampire'' was attached to Eastern Fleet forces operating in the Indian Ocean.<ref name=Cassells144/> At the start of April, ''Vampire'' was ordered to escort the British aircraft carrier {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}} from Ceylon, as the Japanese presence in the area was likely to become dominant.<ref name=Cassells144/>

==Loss==

Following the Japanese Fast Carrier Task Force's [[Indian Ocean raid#Attack on Colombo|attack on Colombo]] in early April, ''Hermes'' and ''Vampire'' were ordered to depart Trincomalee to avoid a follow-up strike.<ref name=Cassells144/> Sailing on 8 April, the two ships avoided the aerial bombing of the port early the next morning, but were spotted and attacked by 85 Japanese [[Aichi D3A]] Val dive bombers escorted by 9 [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] fighter carrier aircraft at 10:35.<ref name=Cassells144/><ref>Shores, et al., pp. 422–28</ref>

''Hermes'' was attacked by 45 bombers  and sustained 40 hits or very near misses and was lost within twenty minutes. ''Vampire'' came under attack by 16 Vals and claimed to have shot down at least one aircraft but was hit or near missed by all sixteen 250&nbsp;kg bombs, breaking in half and sinking 10 minutes after ''Hermes'', her [[Ensign (flag)|ensign]] the last to submerge.<ref name=Cassells144/> Despite the ferocity of the attack, ''Vampire''{{'}}s commanding officer and eight sailors were the only fatalities.<ref name=Cassells144/> The survivors from both ''Hermes'' and ''Vampire'' were recovered by the hospital ship ''Vita''.<ref name=Mason/>

''Vampire'' was awarded five battle honours for her wartime service: "Calabria 1940", "Libya 1940–41", "Greece 1941", "Crete 1941", and "Indian Ocean 1941–42".<ref name=newhonours>{{cite news |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours |title=Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours |date=1 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613184920/http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours |archive-date=13 June 2011 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |access-date=23 December 2012}}</ref><ref name=honourslist>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf |title=Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours |date=1 March 2010 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614064156/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2011 |access-date=23 December 2012}}</ref>

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Cassells |first=Vic |title=The Destroyers: Their Battles and Their Badges |year=2000 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=East Roseville, New South Wales |isbn=0-7318-0893-2 |oclc=46829686}}
* {{cite book |last=Middlebrook |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Middlebrook|author2=Mahoney, Patrick  |title=Battleship: The Sinking of the ''Prince of Wales'' and the ''Repulse'' |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |location=New York City, New York |year=1979 |orig-year=1977 |edition=Book Club |oclc=42848130}}
* {{cite book|last1=Shores|first1=Christopher|last2=Cull|first2=Brian|last3=Izawa|first3=Yasuho|title=Bloody Shambles: The Defence of Sumatra to the Fall of Burma|volume=II|year=1993|publisher=Grub Street|location=London|isbn=0-948817-67-4}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Campbell|first=John|title=Naval Weapons of World War II|year=1985|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=0-87021-459-4}}
*{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
*{{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book |first1=Maurice |last1=Cocker |publisher=Ian Allan |title=Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981 |year=1981 |isbn=0-7110-1075-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2009|isbn=978-1-59114-081-8}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book |last=Hough |first=Richard |title=The Hunting of Force Z: The Brief, Controversial Life of the Modern Battleship, and its Tragic Close With the Destruction of the "Prince of Wales" and "Repulse" |publisher=Collins |location=London |year=1963 |oclc=2699140}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7}}
*{{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service|location=London |oclc=164893555}}
* {{cite book |last=Preston |first=Antony |title='V & W' Class Destroyers 1917–1945 |publisher=Macdonald |location=London |year=1971 |oclc=464542895}}
* {{cite book |last1=Raven |first1=Alan |last2=Roberts|first2=John  |title='V' and 'W' Class Destroyers |publisher=Arms & Armour |location=London |year=1979 |series=Man o'War |volume=2 |isbn=0-85368-233-X|name-list-style=amp }}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Whinney |first=Bob |title=The U-boat Peril: A Fight for Survival |publisher=Cassell |year=2000 |isbn=0-304-35132-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/uboatperilfightf0000whin }}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War 2|publisher=Naval Institute Press|date=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland}}
* {{cite book|last=Winser|first=John de D.|title=B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Gravesend, Kent|year=1999|isbn=0-905617-91-6}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|HMAS Vampire (D68)}}
* [http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-vampire-i Royal Australian Navy webpage for HMAS ''Vampire'' (I)]
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{{V and W class destroyer}}
{{April 1942 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vampire}}
[[Category:V and W-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:1917 ships]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:V and W-class destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of Australia]]
[[Category:Destroyers sunk by aircraft]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1942]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft]]